>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made psible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days,g coolade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea.s nonstop flige available from most major airports.

isre information for your vacation planning vailable at aruba.com. >> and now"bbc world news." laura: this is "bbc world news america." ton, i am from washi laura trevelyan. the war rages on in parts ofsy ria, under intense bombardment g overnment forces.ma the hun toll of the conflict is still rising. as the olympics the u.s. vice president warns north korea it will not let it use the games to hide offensive. and and dark skin, blue eyes -- researchers are discovering what the first modern bketain looked and it may come as a surprise.

laura: welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. human rights groups say more than 25 people have di including 12 children, after syrian government forces carried out airstrikes on eastern ghouta. it l is one of tt remaining areas controlled by rebels fighting president assad. the region is estimated to an --ome to an estimated 4000 people. medical supplies and food have not been allowed in since late last year. por correspondent quentin sommerville's contains distressing images. quentin: syria's war isn't ending, it is getting worse. in eastern ghouta near damascus, theyre overwhelmed. death comes daily from the skies. more than 0 civilians have been killed here. --il kd here this month

already. the rescuers have to move fast. here they follow the sound of a child crying. rethen theach for a scrap of llcloth and hard.bo a is removed alive from the rubble.av hundreds he been left injured a an eastern ghond in the last week, more 40 children have been killed. yestery this rescue workeras called to an emergency. the baby in his arms was his own. >> as we were approaching, i realized it was my house that had been hit. i heard the baby's cry. my son was wounded. i went insid and my children had been injured, and my cousins, too. my house was destred. quentin: the three-month-old is doing fine, but the family wonders when the next attack

will come.gi jets drop unguided bombs that fall haphazardly and bring devastation. arebel shelling has kille dozen people in government areas. f there is a newocity to the conflict. it should look different here. atthis is part of a de-escn zone. suffg.ing should be diminishin but the opposite is happening. here and elsewhere, the conflict is intensifying. basic medical supplies are running low. the region is under siege. but there is alsa sense of hopelessness that the world has stopped caring. >> we are completely drained. the roads are closed. we cannot get new supplies. we have stopped believing anyone will help us.e

we havven up on the international media and the u.n. we hope they would help av, but they he done nothing. quentin: east ghouta is nearing exhaustion. at least 31 people were killed today. everyoneere knows the surge of bloodshed is far from over. sommervillein reporting there on how syria's agy will not funny cap. -- will not end. the winter olympics will kick off in a few days. tensions with north korea have taken center stage. speaking in tokyo, vice president mike pence says they will not allow pyongyang to use the games to hide their offenses. the unitedent pence: states will soon unv al the toughe most aggressive round of sanctions on north korea ever, and we will continue to u isolate north koril it

abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile program once and for all. laura: for more on these comments and the u.s. approach tojords north korea, i'ed by the asia program director at the wilson center here in washington. eespite that tough talk ther from vice president mike pence, does the u.s. see the opening ceremony of the games as a diplomatic opportunity? kim jong-un's sister will be there, after all. sister will bes orrk, as will be the nominal head of state in korea -- will be there, as will be the minal head of state in h career. there are indications that the vi t president is leavi door open. he has not closed the door, but he is bringing with him a very harsh message. he is also breaking the father r, who was sent back to the united states, unfortunately to die. the chances are quite low. laura: and y you travel a lot

to the region and the south koreans are hoping that the dems could be an opportunity to --tart talks on north korea the games could be an opportunity to restart tks on north korea, caps on forward movement. do you think that is possible? >> it is possible. there has been an olympics truce between north and south. the question i, one, if north korea will continue its good behavior throughout the olympics, and two, if washington and pyongyang will fd a way to come to the negotiating table and find a way to talk, or if after the olympicsba things go to normal and we go back to nte attention we have seen in the previous few hs. laura: mike pence itotalking abouh sanctions there. there are already strong sanctions the security council do you think that is having an impact on kim jong-un's behavior? th it is unclear. some people argu the

reason north korea has done with down its actions and ted to engage the south is because the sanctions have been effective and bringing them to some degree to the table. the challenge is that the real objective of theanions is to bring them to the negotiating table to go towards the path denuclearization. north korea has made a zero indication that is a possibility. laura:t south korea is ab post the games. is the south comfortable with the aggressive rhetoric from the united states and this stance mike pence is taking going to the opening ceremony and the guest he is bringing? icially south korea is o board with the intense pressure washington has been bringing and supports the vice president and his approach. behind the scenes, there is a lot of concern that the pressure is not productive. what south korea would like to see is north korea and united states sit down and have talks to keep tensions low.

itr pyongyang nor washington have much appetite for that. laura: let's g say tes go smoothly and there is korean unity. kim jong-un launching another blessing missile test afterwards, or would it undo the good atmphere? >> a test or some sort of provocation would undo good atmosphere. what is coming down the schedule after the olympics is major exercises that the united states and south korea have tually postponed to allow for these games. if the united states ath korea continue on the schedule and have these exercises, that may give north korea an excuse with provocations. blinks first who from who does something that the other can point to. laura: thank you for joining us. last year, several hundred dath muslim rohingya f

across the border from myanmar to bangladesh. now the question is can they return home. an agreement between the two countries was finalized last month, but putting it into practi buddhists in rakhine are reluctant to live alongside their muslim neighbors and accepthem as citizens. some of the worst violence was in the ancient rakhine capital, from where our south asiana correspondent an head reports. jonathan: these old temples are all that is left of what was once a powerful buddhist kingdom. ey are a reminder to the rakhine people, now some of the poorest myanmar, of how far they have fallen. it is the sense of humiliating decline, a favorite theme of local politians, which has stirred up dangerous fear that the rakhine are beg squeezed -- on one side by the burmese state, and on the other by a massive muslim population. five years ago, they turned on

their muslim neighbors. dozens died in this part of rakhine. many rohingya communities were completely destroyed. the survivors confined by the government to squalid camps. this was the start of a bitter ethnic conflict which led to the flight of 700,000 refugees to bangladesh last year. but their khine neighbors have little sympathy. they have their own complaints. they blame the government for their poverty. and they all have tales to tell of violent disputes with muslims. "we can't have them here," tsay . and yet they remembered living together peacefully once. no one was sure why that had changed. this man works as a tour guide

in the ruins. he is also a rakhine political activist, fearful for future of his community. i asked him if they could accept rohingya refugees coming back. >> if weave to accept the muslims now, they really need to follow the rules of our country. jonathan: so the existing laws? they cannot be citizens? >> there will be muslim people who cannot be citizens by tizenship laws. but on the other hand, we are sure there are a lot of illegal muslimom bangladesh. jonathan: today in this part ofy rakhine, can see rohingyas only as ghostly figures by the roadside. there are muslim refugee -- muslim rohingya mmunities, but they are very highly segregated. we have just been passing through one now, and have been

followed by the police special branch.or for most peopleigners visiting here, the muslims may as well be invisible. we did eventually shake off a our police escort and found a group of rohingyas working near the road. forking to us was risk them. we have concealed the identities of those who spoke. they described a life of constant restrictions and constant fear. they live far from the bangladesh border. it would be a dangerous journey. and yet even now they think they, too, may eventually have to join the refugee exodus. jonathan head, bbc news, rakhine state, myanmar. laura: in other news now, in a rare display of bipartisanship, the u.s. senate has reached a two-year budget deal which was held by the repucrican and demoic leaders. but it remains to be seen if the bill can pass thousand presented

as an effort -- and avert another government shutdown with a friday deadline looming. a coalition dealas been struck germany between the centerleft social democrats and angela merkel's conservatives. the agreement looks set to end four months of deadlock following an inconclusive general election last september. the deal would need to be approved by social democratic party members, and many fearg that reentergrand coalition would damage the party. in the u.k., a giant supermarket chain is facing the country's largest ever equal pay lawsuit, which could affect up to 200,000 mostly female shop workers. the women who work on the shop floor say they are less than the men who are working in the distribution centers. it was estimated the supermarke could be liar around $5.5 billion in back pay if itos. pakistan had a rude awakening for the new year. president trump tweeted a blood accusation that it was givg sanctuary to afghan militants

and lying about it, and then suspended military aid. islamabad is looking in another direction. china is investing tens of dollars in the country. the planning minister has high hopes that this will turn the nation around. he spoke with my colleague barbara plett-usher. >> this has brought new momentum, it has created new job oprtunities, it has revive our construction industry. it has been a game changer by bringing new opportunity, optimism, and attracting world investors towas pakistan. barbara: with such chinese support, can pakistan afford to ignore president trump's decision to suspend aid?ry >> unfortunately, we were not receiving heavy military aid i cent years. net we certainly look forward to having a strong pahip with the united states. barbara: but a strong economicip relationith china does take the pressure off, doesn't it, if the u.s. decides to cut aid or take certain actions? >> well, i think it does not

take the pressure off, but it brings great strengt pakistan's economy, because pakistani foreign investment in big scale. barbara: are there people in the pakistani government assigned to watching president trump's twitter fe w? >> well, tle world watches his twitter feed. barbara: it has had an impact on pakistan. mean, i don't think we go by tweets alone. we make a very measured response. when he made that tweet that we felt was very discourteous -- however, pakistan made a very measured response, because we still believe there is an opportunity, there is great value in pakistan-u.s. cooperation to bring peace in afghanistan. however, pakistan will not compromise on its dignity. this is what i told the u.s. s secretary te and u.s. secretary of defense when we had a meeting in islamabad, that we are a nation which got

independence for our dignity. if you offer the people of pakian a cup of poison with dignity, they might drink it. but if you offer people of pakistan cup of honey under duress and coercion, they wi refuse to drink it. we have made very big crifice for fighting war against terrorism. we do not want any dollars. we want an understanding and recognition for the sacrificesat akistan has made. laura: you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come on tonight'sck program, bnemployment and politics. why one of president trump's nyto lines on the economy does not ring true for african-americans. in april of last year,aftudents and from a university in northwest pakistan dragged a

fellow student from his room, beat him, and shot him dead. he was falsely accused of less than me. s sentence one man to death and five others to prison -- now a court has sentenced one man to death and five others to prison. reporter: there was a high profile case, and ce to securityoncerns, the proceedings were held in central jail. there were hundreds ofde policen ployed around the venue, and a large number ofud people, ing lawyers and journalists and activists and families of the accused, were present. only those who have got security passes could go inside. the mood outside the jail was somber, and there was a feeling of anxiety. mashal khan's family, in its reaction to the judgment, said that they don't feel that the justice has done, and they wl

appeal against6 thecused in this case. mashal khan's case many people believe was a watersd moment for the country, because it triggered a debate around spakistan' controversial last for me law -- blasphemy laws. mashal was accused of last for my by university hollows and dragged out of his hotel room and sand lynched by the mob. despite the fact th there was discussion even on the floor of parliament this issue was discussed for the first time, and legislate ors -- legis lators from different political parties were of the view that this law should be amended, but nothing has been done so far to iange

laura:nt presirump has persistently taking credit for falling black unemployment, claiming his policies mean thatm africaicans have never had it so good. while it is true that lack black unem last year of the trump administration, la month it actually increased to 7.7%. how much impact are white house policies having? i traveled to delaware, where african american joblessnen is more thaice the overall average, to find out. this is no oinary bus. it's a mobile job center. it goes around arepl of high unemment in the state of delaware. today the bus is in northeast wilmington. >> we have different jobs have available on a daily basis. peoplestartups hoping looking for work, with advic f for everythim resumes to interviews. delaware's economy is not seeing as much growth as other states, and almost 10% of

african-americans here are unemployed. >> um, stressful. laura: she has a job and is -- but is looking for a better paid position, which isn't easy. what difference would it make for your life getting the next job? >> huge difference. it would make a huge difference for myuture, huge difference for my income. everything, really. laura: an official with delaware's department of labor. >> many families remain stuck -- laura: she says the long-term impact of being without work cannot be underestimated. >> work means stronger, morest le families, and leads to stronger communities. laura: this man is filling out forms of the kingswood community nter. he is about to start a new job as a youth counselor. being unemployed was a strain on him and his family, and he is thrilled to be working again. >> i feel excited about it. i have social security now and i -- i have a sense of security

now and i don't have to worry where the next meal is going to come from or money to pay my mpnt. laura: president tays his policies are the reason that unemployment is falling amongst african-americans. what do you make of that? >> stop taking credit for somebody else's work. en in office even a year. just stop it. laura: beyond president ump's desire to claim credit for black falling black unemployment lies a stubborn problem -- here in delaware, the black unemployment rates are three times that of white unemployment rates. even with an improving economy, it is harder for african-americans to find a job. those who study rates of black unemployment say the decline in african american blessness began under president obama. >> this has been a longer downward trend since about 2013, 2014. what we're seeing now is the tail end of thlonger trend. i think it is moremportant

that we focus on why there is persistent disparity between black unemployment and white ployment. if we are able to tackle that problem, that is an accomplishment and somethinge should celebrate. laura: if donald trump's plano rebuild america's crumbling infrastructure succeeds, economists says that has the potential to bring down african-american unemployment, something the president coulcr rightly claiit for. he is known as cheddar man, the but our next story has nothing to do with cheese. it is the name given to britain's oldest nearly complete human skeleton, found nearly a century ago. now scientists say they know what he looks like as well, thanks to groundbreaking analysis of his dna. reporter: he lay here rsundisturbed for 10,000 y in the cavesth benheddar

gorge, a replica of cheddar man. now 21st-century science means esh on thesel bones. at the natural history museum,da chman finally revealed. by extracting dna from his bones and scanning his skull, experts believe they have re-created his face in unprecedented detail, and he looks very different frod what they expe eyes, the face, that combination of blue eyes and dark skin is very ng. something we would not ha dna -- three from the getting from the dna details of his biology, he couldn't digest milk as an adult. reporter: look how he has chged. from 20 years ago, dna analysis was nowhere near as developed. >> cheddaran and i share a commonre female lative. reporter: this is modern day

cheddar man. he lives in the same village and shares dna with a skeleton found in the gorge. anso time to meet histor. do you want to see your great great great great great great great grandfather? and -- >> oh, my. reporter: what do you think? >> it is remarkable, isn't it? i ink there probably is so resemblance. but yes, there were certainly other members in my family who he bearsesemblance to. reporter: you n see that? >> yes. i think my eyes arblue. reporter: let's have a look. they are blue. reporter: yes -- >> yes, they are blue. mine is. r -- his h not quite as gray as mine is. reporter: 10,000 years after he died, 100 years after he was found, f name of adrian's ancestor. bbc news, cheddar in somerset. laura: the real face of chedda man.

remember, you can find much more on all the day's news on our website. plus, to see what we are working on at any time, check out oe. facebook pag i am laura trevelyan. thank yofor watching "world news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around yourifestyle, so you can swipe your way through the news of the day and e ay up to datwith the latest headlines you can trust. appload now from select stores. >> funding of this present is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you thin you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available

from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> yang: good evening. i'm john yang. judy woodruff is away. on the newshour tonight: senate leaders reach a two-year budget deal. own the numbers and the political headwinds ahead in the house of representatives. then, marching orders. what's behind president trump'su ret for a grand military parade in the nation's capital. plus, as germansrestle with the influx of refugees, a crimea complicates their immigration debate. >> this is a place that has traditionally been tolt. it has welcomed refugees. but what they're saying is that if murder town like kandel, it can happen anywhere else in germany. >> yang: all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour.